Saturday, 22 March 2014

Pakistani film ‘Dunya’ featuring eunuchs hits theatres

The long awaited Punjabi feature film
‘Dunya’ has been released all over Pakistan. The film’s star cast includes
Maumar Rana, Saima Khan, Rambo, Nargis and Shafqat Cheema. In spite of all the
super stars presence in the film, it is expected that the limelight will be the
real life eunuch who have performed in the movie for the very first time. The
director of film is Shahid Rana who has high hopes from his film.

The media’s portrayal of khwaja siras
(transgender individuals) is often negative. In the film industry, such a
character is either the subject of a joke or frowned upon and given limited
roles, says the distinguished director, who is making a comeback after five
years.

Seventy members of the transgender
community are acting alongside the film industry’s prominent stars.

With this film, for the first time,
Pakistan’s favourite villain Shafqat Cheema will be playing a positive role in
a Punjabi film — the role of a guru Khwaja Sira. In the movie, Moammar Rana
works as a doctor in a village where he meets Saima. Rambo, who plays Saima’s
brother, is the sole-breadwinner for their family. When his sister is ready for
marriage, he leaves the village for the city to earn money for her dowry. His
struggle begins when he arrives in the city and his horse is stolen outside of
Data Sahib’s durbar.

“In the film, Rambo dances to make money
for Saima’s dowry, but the result is that no one is willing to marry his
sister,” says veteran screenwriter and lyricist Abdullah Chilli, who has penned
the script for Dunya.

A series of mishaps lands Rambo behind
bars, where Shafqat Cheema introduces him to the world of dancing in Heera
Mandi and also plays the role of a mentor who gets Rambo on his feet.

Although it seems that Dunya is going to be
a film that touches upon some serious themes, Rana clarifies that it will still
be entertaining.